Under the rapid directions of Barnes, the whaleboat was presently surging through the water again, while he took the tiller and the quartermasters finished the bailing1. Both women sat a bit aft to trim the boat anew; and, as they had worked diligently2 at Cantonese while fitting themselves for mission duties, they understood the tongue more or less. Neither of the quartermasters was aware of the fact. Barnes spoke3 it not at all.
"Our master is in love with this drooping4 girl," said Li Fu chantingly, as he bailed5. "Lim Tock desired her also. She must have a devil that charms some men, for she is of no beauty in my eyes."
Hi John laughed harshly. "If those aboard the junk see the women, they will try hard for us! Lim Tock was a Straits man; to him white women are beautiful. These others are Straits men, too, I think. Women are more desirable than gold, and white women than pearls; for white women are hard to come by in Singapore, unless one——"
He went on to speak learnedly of matters which, by good fortune, came in words that the two women had not learned. As it was, they gave each other a startled glance. Then Ellen Maggs motioned to the spare sail.
"Get it, Nora. Lie down and pull it over us."
Barnes saw the action, and his eyes narrowed perplexedly. Then he understood, and a smile touched his lips.
"Good work, girls! Get the kids with you. Li and John, lie down here by the after thwart8, in the trough of the next wave. Chances are they won't have very good glasses aboard the junk. We'll puzzle 'em a bit and make 'em suspicious."
Once again the slender accident upon which hangs fortune! Although the junk was at least three miles from them, Barnes had swiftly estimated her course and sailing power, and had come to the desperate conclusion that she meant to intercept9 them and would do so before they could make the shore. Her large forward and smaller after sail were putting her through the water almost dead before the wind at a fast clip.
Now, when the whaleboat rose to the following seas, she presented the spectacle of a boat under jury rig manned by a single figure in the stern. Other figures had been aboard her; now they were gone. To those on the junk, familiar with the artifices10 of Malay and Dyak, familiar with theft and murder and piracy11 by quiet lagoon12 and hidden river-mouth, it was obvious that the thirty-foot whaleboat wished them to think only one person was aboard. The others might be lying hidden with weapons ready under mats and sails—as they were.
Jim Barnes hauled in his sheets until the whaleboat began to heel, and headed up more directly For the shore, sailing by the wind and getting every possible fraction of speed out of her. Watching narrowly, he saw the brown matting sail braced13 around. The junk altered her course slightly, to run past the stern of the whaleboat and reconnoitre.
"Good!" he exclaimed, with a breath of relief. "We've won—he's frightened! Everybody stay close, now. We don't want her to learn too much. Li Fu, feel around there and pass me up the crutch14 for the steering15 oar6, and you, John, have one of the oars16 ready. I'll ship the crutch and get out the oar. That'll give us better steering power and add a bit to our speed. We'll need the oar in the surf, if there is any."
Five minutes later the change was made and Barnes stood up to the long oar, which kept the boat from yawing and thus aided her progress. Her makeshift rig was holding and promised to effect its purpose.
So it did, indeed. Another twenty minutes made so plain to the junk that the whaleboat could not be intercepted17, that she hauled about and stood off-shore, giving up the chase entirely18. Barnes jubilantly conveyed the news to all hands, but added a warning word.
"Stay where you are! We don't want her coming in later to investigate us. John, stand by the centreboard and haul up when I give the word. There's a lagoon ahead, and we may find a bar at the entrance. No sign of any, but that don't always signify——"
He craned anxiously forward as he stood, examining the shores upon which they were sweeping19. They were low and unhealthy. From the water ascended20 a line, a tangled21 cluster of mangrove22 roots twisted like frozen snakes, with the green wall above. Here and there, however, openings showed that behind these islets lay long lagoons24. For one of these openings Barnes steered25, forced to take chances on striking a sandbar. He looked back from a crest26 and found the brown sail dipping under the horizon.
"All clear! Come alive! Ready for a shock if she strikes, girls. Haul in, John! That's the ticket!"
In between the trees, they rushed on a white foam-crest, swept past, and went darting27 across the quiet surface of a lagoon, the sails flapping. A hundred yards in width it was, the mangrove wall on one side, and on the other a strip of white sand with jungle greenery making another wall to shut off the sky. The boat glided28 gently across and drifted until her nose touched the sand. With a breath of relief, Barnes dropped his oar.
Then the heat smote29 them, blazing, torrential, insufferable. There in the quiet lagoon, cut off from wind and sea, the sun beat down unchecked. Nora Sayers, coming to her feet, glanced at the watch on her wrist and uttered a cry of surprise.
"Good gracious! Do you know that it's nearly noon? No wonder it's hot——"
"Sit down!" ordered Barnes. "Pull her up, lads."
Leaping into the water, the quartermasters pulled the nose of the whaleboat to the sand and helped the two women and the children out.
"All ashore30!" sang out Barnes. "Li Fu, you and John cut a new mast and sprit. Bamboo, if you can find it; if not, whatever you can get. Miss Sayers, keep your eye on the kids, will you? Miss—er—Ellen, will you take this stuff as I hand it out? We'll use the spare canvas for table-cloth, and have a bang-up feed to celebrate. You girls are getting your money's worth this cruise! How do you like Borneo?"
Nora Sayers had no time to answer, for the three brown children had promptly31 stripped and were plunging32 through the water or catching33 sand-fleas, and she was in laughing pursuit. Ellen Maggs smiled as she took the provisions that Barnes handed out.
"I—why, I like it!" she said, her eyes big with wonder at the things around, and sparkling with eagerness. "I'm frightened, and happy, and—don't want to go back! Are there any savages34 around?"
With her next load the girl was laughing at sight of Nora Sayers rounding up her charges.
"I wish we could do that, too! The water looks so clean, and the sand so white."
"Nothing to prevent," said Barnes, chuckling36. "After lunch we'll get the boat rigged. You and Nora can slip up around that point, take the kids along and enjoy life. No sharks of any size in here, and no crocodiles in salt water, I guess. You might catch a stingaree, but not much chance. While you're gone, I'll have a dip myself."
Nora Sayers and the excited, chattering37 brown children rejoined them, and presently their noon meal was ready. Barnes sent up a call, which was answered from the depths of the green jungle, but the meal was half over when Li Fu and Hi John appeared. They were hot and bedraggled, but exultantly38 produced two admirable spars of bamboo, each of the right size, for mast and sprit.
Nora Sayers, energetic and vigorous despite the heat, went exploring and announced the discovery of a little cove39, just around a sandy point. So, taking the children, she and Ellen Maggs presently departed thither40, and the joyful41 shrieks42 of splashing youngsters soon echoed through the lagoon.
Jim Barnes lighted his pipe and fell to work on the spars, at which the quartermasters joined him after their meal. It was no light job, since he was determined43 to have everything shipshape for the proper handling of the boat, and the sheath-knives made slow work of the fibrous bamboo. It was an hour before the mast was stepped and rigged to his satisfaction. Then he enjoyed a quick dip, and was dressed again when the others returned. The Chinese went in search of crabs44, to vary their diet.
The two women found Barnes sitting on the sand, his pipe alight and a frown on his face, as he studied the opposite shore of the lagoon.
"Are you all ready to get off?" asked Nora.
"Ready and waiting." Barnes grinned cheerfully. "Look at the channel over there, by which we came in. Notice anything funny about it?"
Both women looked, perplexed7, but could find no explanation of his words. Barnes pointed45 to the sand about the bow of the boat.
"There's the answer, girls. Tide! It must have been on the ebb46 when we got here. Now she's gone down, and there isn't three inches of water over the bar. We're stuck until about five o'clock, that's all! I'm taking no chances with a thin-skinned whaleboat."
"Right. We can fish and sew and smoke and talk, and hunt crabs, but we can't leave. By four or five o'clock we may scrape over. Why worry? We're a lot better off than we might have been. Not often you strike a sand beach along these mangrove swamps, I can tell you! We'll stretch the spare sail as an awning48 for the kids and let 'em sleep."
Using the broken spars, and Nora Sayers aiding him, he stretched the canvas from the side of the boat and the three children were soon asleep in the shade. Retiring to the edge of the trees, the three awaited the return of the quartermasters. Barnes sighed luxuriously49.
"Golly! This is the first vacation I've had in a long while. Hope you girls won't lose your jobs if you don't get back to China on schedule?"
"I guess not," said Ellen Maggs. "What brought you on that awful ship, Mr. Barnes?"
Barnes gave her a look of whimsical reproach.
"Now, now, I'm surprised at you! My name isn't Mister—it's Jim! Make believe we're on a desert isle23, can't you?"
Ellen Maggs blushed faintly, but her eyes were sparkling when she responded.
"All right—Jim! Now what brought you on that ship?"
"Fate," said Jim Barnes, grinning. "Do you girls remember that morning you came into the consul50's office in Hong Kong?"
Both women glanced at him, surprised.
"Were you there?" demanded Nora Sayers. "We didn't see you?".
"I was there when you left, after talking with the consul about the Sulu Queen" he responded. "You were too excited to notice me, though. The consul's a good sport. He knew the old hooker was no ship for me, but he said you girls were stubborn and were going to take the trip aboard her——"
"Sure. So's the pay they offered me. 'You go along on that houseboat of corruption52, Barnes,' the consul said. 'She needs a second, and there ought to be one white man aboard her if those fool girls are determined to sail.' So, having seen you girls, I agreed with him—and here we are! And believe me, I'm tickled53 to death that I shipped aboard her."
"So am I," said Nora Sayers laughing frankly54. Ellen Maggs said nothing at all, but Barnes caught a look from her eyes that set his pulses leaping.
Li Fu and Hi John returned with a mighty55 loot of crabs and sea-slugs garnered56 from the outer reef, and reported that no sail was in sight, nor was any trail of smoke along the horizon. While the women shudderingly57 eyed the hideous58 slugs and the children poked59 at them with sticks, Barnes got a fire going from dry driftwood and the crab-meat was cooked. The two Chinese squatted60 over another fire and prepared the slugs after their own fashion.
The repast was flavored with curiosity rather than hunger. By the time it was done, Nora Sayers announced the hour as nearly four. Jim Barnes glanced out at the bar, and nodded. The tide was creeping in.
"All aboard! We'll try it, anyhow. Unship the tiller, Li! She steers61 and handles much better with the oar."
Thankful to escape from the unstirred, stagnant62 heat of the lagoon, the women and children were aided into the boat after it had been shoved clear. Barnes took the stern; the quartermasters ran her out and leaped aboard, getting out oars.
"Wind's going down outside," announced Barnes, as they neared the opening. "We'll keep along the coast during the night, however, and with morning ought to run into some native fishing boats. We can soon find where the nearest Dutch post is located. Here we are, now! In oars, men! Stand by the centreboard, John. Li Fu, take care of the sheets!"
The boat's keel touched the mud of the bar lightly, very lightly, and then was over. There had been surf in the morning, but now it was gone, except for a line of breakers fifty feet away. The sails caught the breeze, the boat heeled over, and a moment later Barnes luffed and drove her through the surf, to fall away on the other tack63 and head out to the southward.
Then, as he stood watching the sails, his eyes widened. Before him, seemingly without cause, had appeared a little round hole in the mainsail. An instant later the crack of a rifle came on the wind. He turned, as a shout broke from Li Fu, and perceived what none of them had observed in the moment of getting through the surf.
Half a mile to the north along the mangrove reef was the same junk they had encountered earlier in the day; and, between her and them, bearing down upon them and booming along with the breeze, were three ship's boats with canvas set.
"Our boats!" cried Jim Barnes. "They sank the ship and came along in the boats. Down, everybody! John, get those water breakers aft to trim ship. Down!"
Another rifle-crack emphasized his words, and then the sharp song of the bullet whining64 overhead, followed by a chorus of yells from the three boats.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
bailing
|
|
| （凿井时用吊桶）排水 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
diligently
|
|
| ad.industriously;carefully | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
spoke
|
|
| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
drooping
|
|
| adj. 下垂的，无力的 动词droop的现在分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
bailed
|
|
| 保释，帮助脱离困境( bail的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
oar
|
|
| n.桨，橹，划手；v.划行 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
perplexed
|
|
| adj.不知所措的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
thwart
|
|
| v.阻挠，妨碍，反对；adj.横(断的) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
intercept
|
|
| vt.拦截，截住，截击 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
artifices
|
|
| n.灵巧( artifice的名词复数 )；诡计；巧妙办法；虚伪行为 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
piracy
|
|
| n.海盗行为，剽窃，著作权侵害 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
lagoon
|
|
| n.泻湖，咸水湖 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
braced
|
|
| adj.拉牢的v.支住( brace的过去式和过去分词 )；撑牢；使自己站稳；振作起来 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
crutch
|
|
| n.T字形拐杖；支持，依靠，精神支柱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
steering
|
|
| n.操舵装置 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
oars
|
|
| n.桨，橹( oar的名词复数 )；划手v.划（行）( oar的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
intercepted
|
|
| 拦截( intercept的过去式和过去分词 )； 截住； 截击； 拦阻 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
entirely
|
|
| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
sweeping
|
|
| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
ascended
|
|
| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
tangled
|
|
| adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
mangrove
|
|
| n.(植物)红树，红树林 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
isle
|
|
| n.小岛，岛 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
lagoons
|
|
| n.污水池( lagoon的名词复数 )；潟湖；（大湖或江河附近的）小而浅的淡水湖；温泉形成的池塘 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
steered
|
|
| v.驾驶( steer的过去式和过去分词 )；操纵；控制；引导 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
crest
|
|
| n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
darting
|
|
| v.投掷，投射( dart的现在分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
glided
|
|
| v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
smote
|
|
| v.猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去式 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
ashore
|
|
| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
promptly
|
|
| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
plunging
|
|
| adj.跳进的，突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
catching
|
|
| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
savages
|
|
| 未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
sardines
|
|
| n. 沙丁鱼 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
chuckling
|
|
| 轻声地笑( chuckle的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
chattering
|
|
| n. （机器振动发出的）咔嗒声，(鸟等)鸣，啁啾 adj. 喋喋不休的，啾啾声的 动词chatter的现在分词形式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
exultantly
|
|
| adv.狂欢地，欢欣鼓舞地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
cove
|
|
| n.小海湾，小峡谷 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
thither
|
|
| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
joyful
|
|
| adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
shrieks
|
|
| n.尖叫声( shriek的名词复数 )v.尖叫( shriek的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
determined
|
|
| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
crabs
|
|
| n.蟹( crab的名词复数 )；阴虱寄生病；蟹肉v.捕蟹( crab的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
pointed
|
|
| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
ebb
|
|
| vi.衰退，减退；n.处于低潮，处于衰退状态 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
queried
|
|
| v.质疑，对…表示疑问( query的过去式和过去分词 )；询问 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
awning
|
|
| n.遮阳篷；雨篷 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
luxuriously
|
|
| adv.奢侈地，豪华地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
consul
|
|
| n.领事；执政官 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
meekly
|
|
| adv.温顺地，逆来顺受地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
corruption
|
|
| n.腐败，堕落，贪污 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
tickled
|
|
| （使）发痒( tickle的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）愉快，逗乐 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
frankly
|
|
| adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
mighty
|
|
| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
garnered
|
|
| v.收集并（通常）贮藏（某物），取得，获得( garner的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
shudderingly
|
|
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
hideous
|
|
| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
poked
|
|
| v.伸出( poke的过去式和过去分词 )；戳出；拨弄；与（某人）性交 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
squatted
|
|
| v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的过去式和过去分词 )；非法擅自占用（土地或房屋）；为获得其所有权；而占用某片公共用地。 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
steers
|
|
| n.阉公牛，肉用公牛( steer的名词复数 )v.驾驶( steer的第三人称单数 )；操纵；控制；引导 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
stagnant
|
|
| adj.不流动的，停滞的，不景气的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
tack
|
|
| n.大头钉；假缝，粗缝 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
whining
|
|
| n. 抱怨，牢骚 v. 哭诉，发牢骚 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |